Just as I was calmly reflecting on the myth of the wolf, and Siena’s founders being Aschius and Senius, sons of Romulus and Remus, I was very pleased to receive an email from Marco Valtriani, environmental guide in Arezzo province. Marco, a lovely (noisy!) man and passionate about his home territory, was keen to grow awareness of the area.
Arezzo is a small province tucked in the south east corner of Tuscany, but only an hour and a half south of Florence. We are always keen to seek out other areas like the Mercantour, which offer easy accessibility and stunning unspoilt scenery so the decision to go was quickly made.
We are so lucky living in the South of France, as (without Rogation weekend traffic!) the journey is a mere six and a half hours, great for a long weekend even. The riches of the area need much more time however!
Moving on from the traffic which brought back unhappy memories of festering and fuming on the M25, we had a stopover in Lucca, staying at a charming B&B just 12 km out of the town. Good value and friendly.
Much more motivated on the following day, we headed off into Lucca for a quick look-see – lovely! – and then on to our hosts at Galealpe. Alessandra and Andrea now run an agri-tourism business from their – divinely located – farmhouse, where they farm olives and produce wood for sale. We luxuriated in the perfect peace, looking forward to meeting Marco in the morning.
True to his word, Marco gave us a fascinating whistle stop tour over three days – north south east and west. Exhausting but this WAS what we had requested.
Imagine -
full-on nature from the traditional image of Tuscany’s rolling hills, spotted with cypress trees to areas like the Lake District, East Anglia, and Hereford. More medieval villages than you could shake any form of stick at.
A feast of culture, as we walked in the footsteps of Michelangelo, St Francis, the Mona Lisa. Great food – local produce, excellent value meals.
It is impossible to list all the attractions without sounding like a travel guide. I would just say, go buy a travel guide and then GO.
We will certainly be introducing a Spacebetween holiday for our British guests!!
© Liz Lord 2008
Photo Credits courtesy of Marco, Alessandra and Andrea.
Contacts
Gatto Matto B&B
Elena and Cinzia
http://nuke.ilgattomatto.net/
Marco Valtriani
Biologist - environmental guide
via G. di Vittorio 11
52010 Capolona (AR)
Italy
tel. +39 (0) 575 421094 - + 39 338 3833014
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.walkinginetruria.com
Galealpe Gites
www.galealpe.it
Space Between
Walking and adventure holidays
www.space-between.co.uk
